


Perfect Timing

by rules_is_endgame



Category: Euphoria (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24266788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rules_is_endgame/pseuds/rules_is_endgame
Summary: Lexi and Rue have always known they were right for each other. AKA a story in which a road trip and college unite the two girls and forces them to confront their feelings about one another.
Relationships: Rue Bennett & Lexi Howard, Rue Bennett/Lexi Howard
Comments: 11
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

“Lex…..Lexapro….Alexandria Elizabeth Howard....Lexiiiii” Rue’s singing woke Lexi up. That was a damn shame because Lexi was taking the best nap of her life in the passenger seat of Rue’s car while Rue drove way too fast down the freeway in the middle of the night with the windows down.

“Hey I’m sorry Pips but I’m gonna need you to drive soon.” Lexi sleepily giggled at the mention of her nickname. In third grade, all the kids made fun of Lexi for being so tiny and Rue for being so tall, affectionately dubbing them “Pipsqueak and Noodle” or, as they had come to know each other over the years, Pips and Doodle. Lexi glanced over at the clock. 11:32pm. They had agreed to switch off driving every 4 hours, and Lexi’s shift was supposed to start at 10.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Lexi asked, shoving her hair into something that was so haphazard that it couldn’t even be considered a bun. Rue yawned as she popped a pretzel into her mouth.

“You looked tired and I wanted to let you sleep. Plus I wasn’t even that tired” Rue yawned again “Until now” Rue was always like this. Always let Lexi have the last bite of the food that they shared or slept on the couch so that Lexi could have her bed, Lexi always thought it was Rue’s little ways of making up for how she had treated her in their teenage years. Lexi just smiled at Rue. “Why don’t you pull over and you can sleep” Lexi said with a smirk. Rue didn’t hesitate, and pulled over almost immediately.

Lexi opened the car door swiftly and crossed paths with Rue as they switched seats, Rue settling into the passenger seat, pulling a blanket over her which was still warm from Lexi. “Shut your eyes lady” Lexi says sarcastically as she shifts the car into drive, veering back onto the highway. “Are you sure you’re awake enough to drive?” Rue asked, her eyes shut already. “Yeah, I’m gonna drive through for coffee in a little I think, do you want food?” Rue opened her eyes and they met Lexi’s just for a moment.

“Tacos” they said in unison. This was Rue’s guilty pleasure. Far too many times she had called Lexi in the middle of the night and forced her to come get tacos with her, but Lexi never complained. “I’ll wake you up at 2 and we’ll get tacos and then we’ll call it a night in Portland?” Lexi asked with a smile. “You got it Howard”. 

The two had been taking their time trailing up the West Coast to reach their final destination. The University of Washington. They spent every night in a shitty motel and every morning in some sort of diner, and they loved it. It had taken some convincing on Lexi’s part for Rue to agree to drive instead of fly. The thing about Rue was that she loved airplanes. A space away from the world with no responsibilities, no problems. Lexi had enticed her by making a step by step itinerary, detailing all the cities they’d stop in. A plan.

Lexi watched as Rue’s eyes drooped lazily, her breathing became rhythmic, and her head slumped towards Lexi. Lexi hummed slowly to whatever soft music Rue had been playing. Her gaze eventually shifted off the road and towards Rue.

The truth was, Lexi was in love with Rue. The whole truth was, she had been in love with Rue since she was fourteen. The problem was they were never on the same page. Rue had been using up until junior year when she met Jules, and then the two had been dating since, up until the beginning of this summer. With Jules going to New York and Rue going to Washington, they decided that neither of them could see the relationship working from afar.

Lexi had never told Rue that she was in love with her, of course. In fact, Lexi had never even told Rue that she loved girls. She knew deep down that if she had told Rue, it would only have complicated things between the two. So Lexi was waiting, patiently. She didn’t want to rush things, in fact she kind of loved the stage they were in right now. Rue was single, so Lexi didn’t feel guilty for being in love with her, but at the same time Rue was naive of Lexi’s feelings, allowing them to continue in her dreamworld. 

So it was times like these, when Rue was asleep or distracted or deep in conversation, that Lexi allowed herself to look at her and imagine. Imagine the future they could have together. Lexi wanted it all. She wanted the late night conversations and early morning cuddles and the feeling of just being together, being whole with Rue. So this was her chance. 

Lexi would be lying if she said that she hadn’t secretly been hoping that Rue would choose to go to Washington with her over Penn State, so when Rue had announced to Lexi that she too would be attending, Lexi let herself explore the idea of them together, in college, in love. 

\------------

Rue’s eyes fluttered open quickly as she gasped. She often awoke like this, as the neverending night terrors she experienced left her horrified. Lexi reached over and grabbed her hand, running her thumb over the side of it. 

“Hey, you’re all good. Just me and you. All safe, don’t worry”. Even while hearing Lexi’s assuring words, Rue couldn’t help but to hyperventilate, the memory of her dream fresh in her mind as Lexi pulled into the parking lot of a motel.

“Hey, Doodle, it was just a dream, you’re okay. Do you need me to call Gia?” Lexi knew the dreams were almost always about the younger Bennett sister. Countless times when Rue slept over, Lexi would wake up to Rue slipping out of bed in the middle of the night to call Gia and make sure she was alright.

Rue nodded at Lexi, and Lexi parked the car and clicked Gia’s name on her contact list. The phone rang twice before clicking, and Gia’s groggy voice spoke.  
“Lexi, it’s 2:30 in the morning. What do you need.” Gia asked, obviously annoyed at being awoken. “Hey G, it’s Lex. Listen, can you just tell Rue you’re alright?” Lexi asked as she let her hand drag up and down Rue’’s back, trying to calm her. Gia knew instantly what the issue was.

“Hey Rue Rue, it’s me. I’m okay, I was sleeping. I watched way too much My So Called Life and Mom made spaghetti for dinner. Everything’s alright. I promise” Rue sighed hearing this. Relief.

“I love you G” Rue whispered to her sister. “I love you too, are you okay?” Gia responded. “Yeah, I’m okay” Rue says. “Okay, I’m gonna go back to sleep then. I love you guys, you too Lex” “Love you more G” Lexi says as she hangs up the phone.

Lexi hugged Rue over the center console of the car, waiting for her breathing to return to normal before picking up the bag of tacos sitting in the backseat. “Come on, it’s taco time” Rue said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked inside the motel, watching as Lexi got the two of them a room and navigated them to a door with a metal “312” on the plaque outside.

Rue threw all of her belongings on the floor and plopped herself onto the bed. Lexi sat down beside her and opened up the bag of tacos, handing one to Rue and taking one for herself. It was moments like these in which Rue realized how lucky she was. Lucky to make it out of her drug stent alive, lucky to somehow salvage her grades enough to pursue an education in social work, but mostly lucky to be here, with Lexi. The sudden feeling of thankfulness hit her quickly.

She watched Lexi as she ate her taco, giggling at whatever sitcom they were only partially watching. Her heart stopped for a moment. She loved Lexi, in fact for many years she had been in love with Lexi, until she met Jules. Her love for Jules had caused her love for Lexi to be pushed aside, until this moment. This moment watching her tiny best friend cuddled up sloppily eating a taco.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Rue asked. She heard Lexi’s breath catch in her throat, and they both just stared at one another for a moment.

Fuck, Lexi. Come on. This is your chance, just do it.

Lexi shifted her weight forward, towards Rue. Rue glanced at every aspect of Lexi’s face. Her face seemed so effortlessly perfect, so flawless. Lexi took a deep breath, leaned forward, and let her hand grab the back of Rue’s neck as she pulled her closer. Rue looked at her for a moment, letting everything click.

“Can I kiss you?” Rue asked. This was what they both wanted. This was what they had always wanted. Nothing felt more right, more safe, more natural, than the thought of kissing Lexi.

Without a response, Lexi closed the gap between the two girls, letting there lips lock.

This. This was perfect.


	2. Four Cups of Shitty Denny’s Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!!! i thought it would be nice to have something to look forward to during this uncertain time, so i’m going to be sticking to a friday/sunday/wednesday chapter upload schedule!! i really like this storyline and i think it has a lot of potential so be prepared for more. hope you guys like :))) also!!! i totally forgot to say last chapter but this is inspired by a request by @nomansland that i absolutely loved and i love where it’s going!!

Lexi woke up the next morning and immediately winced at the twing of pain radiating from her neck, then she noticed how her lips felt raw every time she breathed in. Then, it all came back to her. She traced her neck pain back to the several hickies she had received, and her lips were raw from Rue’s teeth running against them. Rue Bennett was the culprit of this, and Lexi was not complaining.

The orange beams of sunlight hit Rue’s sleeping silhouette just right. Lexi gazed at her and she couldn’t help but think how natural this felt, how everything was falling into place. Rue stirred, still sleeping, and nuzzled herself right against Lexi. The brunette’s eyes opened sleepily as she mumbled.

“What?” Lexi whispered in response to Rue’s incoherent mumble.

“I said good morning Alexandria” Rue repeated. Rue knew that Lexi only pretended to hate when Rue called her that, she knew that it made her blush so hard that she had to turn away sometimes.

“Good morning Rue Marie” Lexi giggled as she wrapped her arms tight around Rue’s small frame, pulling the covers around them. Rue turned around to face Lexi, pushing the hair out of her face.

“So, how long have you been madly in love with me?” Rue asked. Lexi burst out into a fit of laughter as she shoved Rue’s shoulder. “Mmm, only like forever” Lexi said, pressing her lips into the side of Rue’s neck, allowing herself to linger.

“You know if we start now we’re never gonna leave this motel room” Rue said, separating her neck from Lexi. Lexi audibly whined. Rue slid out of bed, giving Lexi a smirk and opening the blinds.

This all felt so weirdly natural to the both of them. Like they had been together forever and woke up entangled in each other every morning. This didn’t feel like the morning after some awkward one night stand, it felt like waking up next to someone you’ve been married to for years. 

Rue tiptoed around the room, picking out 2 of her t-shirts, one for herself and one for Lexi. Rue’s shirts were already so big that her 5’10 self was floating in them, and Lexi being half a foot shorter looked like a child wearing their parents clothes. Rue slipped on some joggers while Lexi opted for some black biker shorts.

When Rue was younger, she played piano. It had been her dad’s idea, picking up something rhythmic that let her do all sorts of counting in her head. It had worked, until her dad died and her new favorite hobby became stealing his opioids. She used to play for Lexi all the time. 

The point is, after she stopped playing she picked up a nervous habit of pretending to play the piano, but instead of her fingers tapping against the keys, it would be against her leg or a desk or the steering wheel. Lexi heard the tapping coming from the bathroom while Rue brushed her teeth. Lexi knew about this habit because she noticed all of the little signals. That was how she caught all of the nervous breakdowns before they even happened. Piano tapping, digging her nails into her palm, whisper-counting the number of blue cars on the freeway. 

Lexi got off of the bed that she was laying on top of and made her way towards Rue in the bathroom. There Rue was, pacing around the bathroom, tapping her fingers, deep in thought. Lexi sat herself on the counter and looked at Rue for a moment before speaking.

“Hey, talk to me. What’s going on in your head right now?” Lexi asked, placing her hand over Rue’s, forcing her to cease movement. She watched as a single tear fell from Rue’s eye. Lexi could see Rue’s mind racing, flashing a million different thoughts through. 

Rue just took several uneven breaths and choked down a sob. “I can’t….I want this. I want us. And I’m just-“ Rue stopped for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “I’m scared that you don’t want me like I want you. Because I’m literally in love with you and I don’t even want you to say something because I’m so scared that you...that I’m not enough for you.”

Lexi stood there for a moment, confused, before wrapping her arms around Rue, breathing in the smell of her coconut conditioner. “Rue, I’m in love with you too. I’ve been in love with you since we were kids. You aren’t a phase for me, you’re my…” Lexi paused, thinking if she was sure about her next sentence. Then she realized, this was the easiest decision she had ever had to make, she had no doubt about her next 6 words. “You’re the love of my life” She said, getting up on her tiptoes to press her forehead to Rue’s. Breathing each other’s air.

Rue smiled slowly. “I want you forever” Rue said, and she was sure of it too. Lexi wasn’t just in Rue’s life because she was convenient anymore, she was in Rue’s life because she loved her more than she loved anyone else, with the exception of Gia. 

“I want you longer than forever” Lexi whispered. And then there were her lips again, pressed up against Rue’s. Not like last night, just a gentle kiss. A safe kiss. A kiss that screamed “I love you and I’m yours”. This was when Rue realized, not everything had to be fast and passionate and heated, because this relationship wasn’t rash or sudden. This was real love, this was home.

———

“Rue, you drinking 3 cups of coffee in one sitting is literally concerning. You’re never gonna sleep again, ever.” Lexi sipped her green tea as Rue polished off her third mug of crappy black Denny’s coffee. 

“Howard, today is a very big day. I need all the caffeine that the universe has to offer.” Lexi looked down at her phone, 17 text messages for Cassie lighting up her screen. Lexi hadn’t even glanced at her phone since her early morning text to Cassie.

lexi: so like….don’t tell mom…..but rue and i are like, together now

To which immediately Cassie reacted with a flood of messages.

cassie: well yeah you’re literally in the same hotel i know you’re together

cassie: wait….do you mean like….together together???

cassie: wait you totally do!!! what happened???

cassie: omg lex you cant leave me on the edge of my seat like this

cassie: are you banging her is that why you aren’t texting me back

No, Lexi was not banging her. Lexi was sitting across from the most perfect girl she had ever seen sip an absurd amount of coffee.

“Doodle we should leave soon, we can start moving in at 2 and it’s already 10” Lexi said, letting her hand find Rue’s 

“One more cup” Rue said, giving Lexi big puppy dog eyes. Lexi could never say no to her, maybe that was her biggest weakness.

“One more, but only if you promise to drink a glass of water afterwards, and only if you let me drive.” 

“Pips, you got it”


	3. Welcome Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi loves! apologies for the late upload. i had it ready last night but i really just wasn't happy with some parts so i rewrote. i just wanted to say thank you for your sweet comments and i hope you've been liking it so far! also question, do you prefer shorter chapters like this or longer ones? okay anyways i hope you're doing well and have a great week!! ps i know this has been super soft and fluffy so far but don't worry you'll get a real plot line soon lol.

“Rue, you are such a backseat driver”

“No Lex, I’m a passenger seat driver. There’s a difference” Rue said as she let her hand fall on Lexi’s thigh. Rue was impatient, that’s why Lexi hated her driving. She always insisted on going at least 20 miles over the speed limit and also never used her turn signals, which left Lexi way too anxious. So, when Lexi drove exactly at the speed limit and let way too many people merge into her lane, Rue was bound to get irritated.

“Rue, stop before I call the housing department and ask them to assign me a different roommate” Lexi said as she laughed, placing her hand over Rue’s on her thigh. Rue felt warm all over her entire body and fought the urge to kiss Lexi right then.

“Yeah right Lexi. you make me call every time we order pizza because it makes you ‘too nervous’ to talk to them” Rue says, making air quotes.

“It does and you know it!” Lexi jokingly argued. She loved that Rue knew all these little things about her. Even the little insignificant things, like how her least favorite chore was vacuuming or how she could only fall asleep if she laid on her left side.

“You’re right, I do know it, and I love it” Rue replies, kissing Lexi’s temple as Lexi focuses on the road. Rue watched as Lexi veered off of the freeway.

“Hey, wrong exit Pips” Rue said, trying to catch Lexi’s mistake before she made it, but Lexi continued getting off of the main road, looking over at Rue with a sneaky smile. Rue gave her a shy smile in return. Lexi was never one for surprises, she was predictable and that was what Rue loved about her. Lexi’s house was Rue’s favorite place to be in the midst of an anxiety attack or a manic episode because it was unchanging. Lexi would make them both tea, give Rue the same set of pajamas and whisper the same calming words to her. How could she not have realized that she was in love with her sooner?

“Not the wrong exit, I’m taking you somewhere” Lexi said with a smile

Nerves instantly flooded Rue’s system. This was not part of the plan that her and Lexi had outlined, and she did not like it. “Lex, we’re gonna be late and then we’re gonna have to-” Lexi cut her off by squeezing her hand. 

“I promise we won’t be late. I know you hate being late. It’ll be quick” Lexi replied, and Rue leaned back into her seat. This is Lexi, trust her, Rue thought to herself.

Lexi parked the car at an overlook of the ocean, turning on the playlist of songs that she always played while they drove. 

“I’ve...I’ve never seen the ocean” Rue sighed out.

“I know” Lexi said as she leaned over to rest on Rue’s shoulder as they both stared at the clear blue water in front of them.

“It’s so..big. It just goes on for miles and miles” Rue said, taking in the sight. Her eyes shifted from the great expanse of water to the small brunette sitting next to her. Rue was deep in thought when Lexi interrupted her.

“What are you thinking about?” Lexi asked. Lots of things. She was thinking of how she had to bring Gia here, how no one had ever done so many thoughtful things like Lexi does, how she could totally understand why people thought the world was flat by the way the ocean just suddenly disappeared off the edge of the skyline.

“How lucky I am to know you” Rue said, interlocking their fingers and looking deep into Lexi’s eyes. She felt like she could always tell Lexi everything that was on her mind, and she loved that. 

Lexi’s heart felt like it might explode right in that moment, the events of the last 24 hours hitting her. Rue leaned in and guided their lips together, running her tongue over Lexi’s bottom lip. Lexi sighed into the kiss, she could stay like this forever.

Lexi’s tongue slid into Rue’s mouth as she climbed to sit on top of Rue in the passenger seat, while Rue let her hands glide over Lexi’s hip bones. Lexi moaned lowly into the kiss and pushed Rue's hair behind her ears as she made her way down to Rue’s neck, biting at her skin gently. Rue gasped quietly at this. You would think that making out with your best friend of fifteen years would be awkward, but it felt just right. “Fuck you’re perfect Lex” Rue sighed.

“I feel pretty damn lucky to know you too” Lexi whispered into Rue’s ear, finding her way back to the driver's seat. Rue nuzzled her head into Lexi’s neck as Lexi pulled out of the overlook and back onto the road. 

\-------------------------

“Hey Rue Rue, we’re here” Lexi said as Rue opened her eyes to the big green trees surrounding her. She had never seen anything so beautiful, and between the campus and Lexi, Rue felt like she had everything she could have asked for.

The two girls lugged their boxes and suitcases up to a check-in booth. What most people might not know about Rue is that she is incredibly high maintenance and packed way too many bags of clothes she would never even wear. “Just in case” she had told Lexi.

“Hi umm...it should be under Howard and Bennett?” Rue said shyly to the woman handing her and Lexi their keys. The two held hands as they walked up through the hallways and towards their dorm.

Lexi turned her key in the door and swung it open, allowing Rue to see 2 desks, beds, and closets. This was it, this was her new life. One without drugs or Nate Jacobs or her hometown from hell. Her, Lexi, and this tiny room.

“Welcome home”

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii i hope you guys liked! i've always been a rules shipper until reading rexi fanfic, so heres some more. the lack of fanfic for this fandom is so sad and all i want to do is read right now :( if you can write, i'm begging you to write lol.


End file.
